This invention relates to coupon issuing technology, in particular to method and apparatus for issuing coupons indicative of monetary value corresponding to an amount of prize money that a player has won in a gaming machine.
When a player wins games with a gaming machine in a gambling establishment such as a casino, a bill dispenser connected with the gaming machine dispenses bills or currency corresponding to an amount of prize money that the player wins. However, in most cases, the bill dispenser runs short of bills contained therein and therefore fails to dispense the required amount of bills because it does not have its large capacity for storing plenty of bills to dispense. Typically, the bill dispenser is not so designed to have a bill recycling system wherein bills inserted into the gaming machine can be transported to and dispensed from a dispensing tray of the bill dispenser as prize money. Accordingly, plenty of bills must always be supplied to the bill dispenser to surely dispense the required amount of bills corresponding to prize money for the win games.
In another aspect, when bills are supplied to the bill dispenser, a clerk of the casino must do troublesome operations that comprises the steps of reserving plenty of bills; unlocking and opening a door of the gaming machine; removing a stacker from the bill dispenser in the gaming machine; unlocking the stacker; supplying plenty of bills in the stacker; locking and attaching the stacker in the bill dispenser; and closing and locking the door of the gaming machine. To this end, the casino must always reserve a vast number of bills in the bill dispensers, and give the thorough and strict security protection for bills against theft upon replenishment with bills of the bill dispenser in the gaming machines. To solve these problems, a proposal has been made that a bill dispenser in a casino can safely and easily pay out cashable tokens, coupons or scrip of a certain kind corresponding to the prize money of win games without using real bills.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,033 to Harold G. Bittner et al. discloses a gaming machine which contains a vast number of game coupons each bearing a legend or prize code key printed on the front side. These game coupons are contained in coupon magazines for distribution, however no printer is provided in the gaming machine so that it cannot print a required monetary amount on the game coupons upon issuance. Also, International Publication No. WO 94/16781 shows a gaming apparatus which comprises a slot machine capable of accepting either paper currency preprinted coupons or cash out slips. The slot machine also includes a printer that prints and dispenses cash out slips which include a bar code representing a unique identification that provides the amount of xe2x80x9cwinningsxe2x80x9d. However, this printer is not used to prepare valuable coupons.
Thus, the known typical bill dispenser can provide a player with only a kind of bills or tokens so that it tends to lack in bills due to absence of large denomination bills or tokens in it, and therefore a clerk must always replenish a supply of bills or coupons at apparently dangerous work to carry bills or coupons to gaming machines and fill the bill dispenser up with them.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide method and apparatus for issuing coupons indicative of monetary value corresponding to an amount of prize money that a player has acquired in a gaming machine.
Another object of the invention is to provide method and apparatus for issuing valuable coupons for a gaming machine to prevent emission of improper or invalid coupons.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide method and apparatus for issuing coupons for and around a gaming machine.
A further object of the instant invention is to provide method and apparatus for promptly issuing coupons each which represents a corresponding monetary value printed thereon to an amount of prize money that a player wins in a gaming machine at player""s request.
Applied to a gaming machine (80) is the method for issuing coupons according to the present invention which comprises the steps of accumulating blank coupons in a hopper (2); forwarding an issue command from the gaming machine (80) to an issue control circuit (30); driving a conveyer means (20) by outputs from the issue control circuit (30) to draw a blank coupon from the hopper (2) to a passageway (14); transporting the blank coupon along the passageway (14) to a printing area (15) provided with a printer (19); activating the printer (19) by outputs from the issue control circuit (30) to print gaming information on the moving blank coupon and thereby prepare a valuable coupon; and dispensing the coupon from an outlet (23) of the passageway (14).
According to the present invention, the valuable coupon can easily be issued at player""s request by printing monetary value on a blank coupon. Each valuable coupon may bear the printed information representing the monetary value corresponding to an amount of prize money that a player has gained in the gaming machine. The monetary values to be printed on the blank coupon may be different every win game the players have done so that the printer can print various monetary values on the coupon payable to the players without storage or supply of bills in the gaming machine.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the method may comprise converting by a transducer (18) the gaming information printed on the coupon into electrical signals; forwarding the signals from the transducer (18) to the issue control circuit (30); confirming in the issue control circuit (30) based on the signals from the transducer (18) whether the coupon is proper; dispensing the coupon from the outlet (23) of the passageway (14) after the issue control circuit (30) confirms that the coupon is proper; and preventing distribution of the coupon when the issue control circuit (30) decides that the coupon is improper.
The confirming process includes deciding that the proper coupon bears the correctly printed gaming information or is composed of a single sheet drawn from the hopper (2); or that the improper coupon includes the incorrectly printed gaming information or is composed of double sheets drawn from the hopper (2). After the preceding blank coupon is transferred to the printing area 15, extraction of a next blank coupon from the hopper (2) is barred.
The coupon is transferred from the printing area (15) to a stand-by area (16) where it temporarily is held for confirmation by the issue control circuit (30) on whether the coupon in the stand-by area (16) is proper. In this case, when the issue control circuit (30) confirms that the coupon is proper, it is carried from the stand-by area (16) through a pay-out area (17) to the outlet (23). Adversely, when the issue control circuit (30) decides the coupon as improper, it is conveyed from the stand-by area (16) to a reject chamber (28) for storage, and a new coupon preferably is reissued by outputs of the issue control circuit (30).
In the embodiment of the invention, a deflection device (25) is provided between the printing area (15) and stand-by area (16) at a junction of the printing area (15) and the pay-out area (17). The deflection device (25) is movable between a rest position for opening the printing area (15) and closing the pay-out area (17), and a shift position for closing the printing area (15) and opening the pay-out area (17). When the moving coupon passes through the deflection device (25), a leading edge of the moving coupon forcibly pushes a deflector (26) of the deflection device (25) from the rest position to the shift position. The method according to the invention may comprise cutting a continuous paper into a card-like or sheet-like blank coupon of given length by a cutter means (60) on the passageway (14). The gaming information includes at least monetary value corresponding to an amount of prize money that a player won in the gaming machine (80) as well as an issue serial number inherent or peculiar to the local gaming machine (80) or visible and bar coded information. Information printed on the valuable coupon may involve visible information for confirmation by a player with bar coded information, and the gaming machine has a bill validator disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,019 to Taichi Sato or U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,406 to Hikaru Izawa et al. When a player inserts the valuable coupon, the bill validator can decode the bar coded information on the coupon to start or continue playing game, effectively operating the gaming machine (80).
The coupon issuing apparatus for a gaming machine (80) according to the present invention comprises a hopper (2) for containing a plurality of blank coupons; a conveyer means (20) for drawing a blank coupon out of the hopper (2) and transporting the blank coupon or printed coupon along a passageway (14) for distribution from an outlet (23) provided at the end of the passageway (14); a printer (19) mounted in the vicinity of the passageway (14) for printing gaming information on the moving blank coupon to produce a valuable coupon; and an issue control circuit (30) for controlling operation of the conveyer means (20) and the printer (19) in response to an issue command of the gaming machine (80).
Upon receiving an issue command from the gaming machine (80), the issue control circuit (30) operates the conveyer means (20) which draws a blank coupon from the hopper (2) and transports it along the passageway (14). The issue control circuit (30) supplies the printer (19) with gaming information including monetary value corresponding to an amount of prize money that a player has gained in a gaming machine; a symbol; and an issue serial number inherent to the local gaming machine (80) to easily discriminate authenticity of the coupon by the bill validator. Also, the printer (19) is activated by outputs of the issue control circuit (30) to print on the moving blank coupon these information stored in the gaming machine (80) so that the blank coupon is matured into a valuable coupon which is subsequently dispensed from the outlet (23) provided at the end of the passageway (14) without need of distributing plenty of real money.
According to the embodiment of the invention, the coupon issuing apparatus may further comprise a transducer (18) disposed along the passageway (14) at the downstream of the printer (19) for converting the gaming information printed on the coupon into electrical signals and transmitting the signals to the issue control circuit (30), and a reject chamber (28) connected to the passageway (14) so that the issue control circuit (30) operates the conveyer means (20) to forward the coupon to the reject chamber (28) when the circuit (30) decides the coupon as improper.
The issue control circuit (30) decides that the proper coupon bears the correctly printed gaming information or is composed of a single sheet drawn from the hopper (2); or that the improper coupon includes the incorrectly printed gaming information or is composed of double sheets drawn from the hopper (2). The issue control circuit (30) reissues a new coupon when the circuit (30) detects the improper coupon which is transported to the reject chamber (28) by the conveyer means (20).
The passageway (14) may comprise a printing area (15) provided with the printer (19) and communicated with the hopper (2); a stand-by area (16) communicated between to the printing area (15) and the reject chamber (28) for temporarily holding the printed coupon; and a pay-out area (17) communicated between the stand-by area (16) and the outlet (23).
The deflection device (25) comprises a deflector (26) rotatably attached between the rest position and the shift position, and a return spring (27) for resiliently urging the deflector (26) toward the rest position. The deflector (26) is rotated from the rest to the shift position against elastic force of the return spring (27) by a leading edge of the coupon moving from the printing area (15) to the stand-by area (16). The deflector (26) is retained in the shift position by elastic force of the return spring (27) before and after the coupon is moved from the stand-by area (16) to the pay-out area (17).
Accordingly, the movement of the deflection device (25) causes the coupon to smoothly and surely be transported from the printing area (15) to the stand-by area (16) or from the stand-by area (16) to the pay-out area (17). Moreover, the deflection device (25) does not need any electrically-operated actuator because the deflector (26) can be moved from the rest to the shift position by the moving coupon and automatically returned to the rest position by elastic force of the spring (26).
The transducer (18) comprises an optical sensor or a magnetic sensor for optically or magnetically detecting bar coded information on the coupon. The coupon issuing apparatus is conveniently disposed in the gaming machine (80) because a player can receive there a coupon immediately dispensed from the coupon issuing apparatus in the gaming machine (80). Otherwise, the coupon issuing apparatus may be disposed outside the gaming machine (80).
The hopper (2) comprises a cassette (4) removably attached to the coupon issuing apparatus for accumulating blank coupons. The conveyer means (20) comprises pull rollers (7, 8) rotatably mounted under the cassette (4) for pulling the blank coupon out of the cassette (4) to the printing area (15); and an idle roller (9) mounted at the downstream of the pull rollers (7, 8) for conveying the coupon from the printing area (15) to the stand-by area (16) in cooperation with a plurality of drive rollers (10 to 13). The pull rollers (7, 8) can transport not only the blank coupon through the printing area (15) but also the coupon through the stand-by area (16) for simplified structure of the conveyer means (20). The reject chamber (28) preferably is formed under the cassette (4) at the end of the stand-by area (16) to convey an improper coupon to the reject chamber (28). In lieu of separate blank coupons contained in the cassette (4), a cutter means (60) and a roll of a continuously wound paper may be provided along the passageway (14) for cutting the continuous paper into a card-like or sheet-like blank coupon of given length. A surface of the coupon bears the printed information readable by a bill validator to cash the coupon by an exchanger provided in the gaming machine (80) or to operate the gaming machine (80).
The conveyer means (20) comprises at least a pull roller (7, 8) in contact to a lowermost blank coupon in the cassette (4) for drawing it out of the cassette (4); and a transport roller (6) for transporting the blank coupon received from the pull roller (7, 8) to the printing area 15. An electromagnetic clutch device (47) is provided to stop rotation of the transport roller (6) to bar extraction of a next blank coupon from the hopper (2) after the preceding blank coupon is transferred to the printing area 15. To this end, the electromagnetic clutch device (47) comprises a drive gear (37) mounted on a clutch shaft (42) for free rotation; a clutch plate (40) sidably mounted between the active and inactive positions on the clutch shaft (42) for supporting the transport roller (6); and an actuator (43) for urging the clutch plate (40) in the inactive position to the active position to bring the clutch plate (40) into detachable engagement with the drive gear (37). The electromagnetic clutch device (47) comprises a release spring (39) for elastically urging the clutch plate (40) toward the inactive position, and the actuator (43) pushes the clutch plate (40) toward the active position against elastic force of the release spring (39). 32. The bar coded information includes the monetary value, BET number and serial number and symbol.
The above-mentioned as well as other objects of the present invention will become apparent during the course of the following detailed description and appended claims.